AllFreeNovel
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“Do you wanna get appetisers or go straight for mains?” I ask her.
“How about we go halves on the garlic bread and share a platter and get our own mains?” she suggests, biting the side of her thumb while she looks over her hand at me.
“Whatever you want, little bird,” I tell her, making her smile appear. The waitress comes back, placing our drinks in front of us.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Can we get the garlic bread and share a platter but bring everything out together. I’ll also have the taco salad bowl. Does any of that have peanuts in it as I’m allergic?” she asks the waitress.
“No, none of the items on the menu have peanuts as the owner is allergic to peanuts as well so he and the chef made the menu specifically around it.”
“Oh really? That’s great,” Sophia says, before the waitress writes all that down on her pad before turning to me.
“I’ll have the sirloin steak with a side of fries instead of salad and mushroom sauce please.”
“Not a problem. It may be a longer wait than usual with opening week, so if your mains are a bit further off, would you prefer I bring out the entrees first?” she asks, her gaze flicking back and forth between us.
“Sounds great,” Sophia tells her. A warm smile on her face. My glass of lemonade feels cool under my fingertips as I raise it to my lips for a sip. Sophia does the same with her iced tea.
“Ooh that’s yummy,” she says more to herself than me, pulling a smile out of me.
“I have a present for you,” I tell her, causing her eyes to meet mine with her brows raised. I dig my hand into my front pocket and pull out the two small velvet boxes. I place them on the table before pushing them towards her.
“Are these?” she says, watching as I nod before she finishes the sentence. She flicks one box open with a click and her mouth drops open at the sight. Her glassy eyes look at me before she pulls out my nana’s engagement ring which has now been refitted to fit her finger.
“Let me,” I tell her. Pinching the ring, I remove it from the box and slide it onto her finger where it fits perfectly now. The red ruby glistening under the restaurant lights. I flick open the other box and pull out her wedding band and show her the inscription.All of my Sundays.A tear drips down her face as her wide smile shines at me as I push the ring onto her finger, where it sits nicely next to the engagement ring.
She pulls out my wedding band and pushes it on to my finger for me and we clasp our fingers together over the table, staring at each other.
“I love you,” I confess. I’ve felt it for a long time now, and this feels like the right time to voice it out loud.
“I love you too,” her small voice says, before she stands from her side of the booth and joins me on my seat. Our lips meet and everything drifts away in the moment. It’s just me and my wife as we kiss, and I can’t help but feel my heart will burst from the happiness I feel. When we pull apart, Sophia stays on my side of the booth cuddled into my side as I wrap an arm around her to keep her close. She holds her hand out in front of her, admiring her newest accessories.
The waitress returns with our appetisers, sliding the brown plates down in front of us.
“Enjoy. Hopefully your mains won’t be too far away.”
“Thanks,” I say, breaking off some garlic bread and taking a bite. Sophia stabs a piece of fried chicken with her fork from the share platter and pops it in her mouth. Chewing, she smiles at me, so I grab a piece of the crumbed fish and try that. She coughs, causing my eyes to glance at her. She stares at the platter as if she’s frozen. Her eyes blink but no other movement.
“Soph?” I ask, unsure what’s caused the changes in mood. Her wide eyes glance at me before she coughs out the words that send both of us into a spiral.
“It feels like an allergy.”
“Shit. What should I do?” I ask, freaking out inside but holding that in so she doesn’t see. Her lips are already more swollen than usual.
“EpiPen,” her hoarse voice says, as she runs her hands beside her.
I jump from my seat to get to the opposite side of the booth to retrieve her bag. I unzip it and hold the pen in my hand. Her breaths become wheezy, and I panic. My hand fumbles in my jeans for my phone dialling emergency services.
“Ambulance. Please hurry to Fort Street. We think she's having an allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis. I have her EpiPenhere,” I report to the calm woman’s voice on the other end of the line.
“The ambulance is on its way. Is there anyone else there to help you?”
I look around the crowded restaurant and drop the phone from my ear. Standing on my chair, I let out a screeching whistle with my fingers in my mouth to gain everyone’s attention. All eyes fly to me.
“She’s having an allergic reaction. Can anyone help me?” I plead, staring at everyone around me.
“I’m a nurse,” a man yells from the back table, where he sits with his family. He rushes over, takes the EpiPen from my hand and stabs her thigh. He grabs Sophia’s wrist in his while he holds the pen against her leg for a few more seconds and looks at his watch taking her pulse. “Put them on speaker,” he directs me, so I do that, sliding my phone across the table to him. “What’s her name?” he asks me.
